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.TH "CMAKE-QT" "7" "Aug 27, 2025" "4.1.1" "CMake"
.SH NAME
cmake-qt \- CMake Qt Features Reference
.SH INTRODUCTION
.sp
CMake can find and use Qt 4, Qt 5 and Qt 6 libraries. The Qt 4 libraries are
found by the \fI\%FindQt4\fP find\-module shipped with CMake, whereas the
Qt 5 and Qt 6 libraries are found using \(dqConfig\-file Packages\(dq shipped with
Qt 5 and Qt 6. See \fI\%cmake\-packages(7)\fP for more information about CMake
packages, and see \X'tty: link https://doc.qt.io/qt-6/cmake-manual.html'\fI\%the Qt cmake manual\fP\X'tty: link' for your Qt version.
.sp
Qt 4, Qt 5 and Qt 6 may be used together in the same
\fI\%CMake buildsystem\fP:
.INDENT 0.0
.INDENT 3.5
.sp
.EX
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16 FATAL_ERROR)

project(Qt4_5_6)

set(CMAKE_AUTOMOC ON)

find_package(Qt6 COMPONENTS Widgets DBus REQUIRED)
add_executable(publisher publisher.cpp)
target_link_libraries(publisher Qt6::Widgets Qt6::DBus)

find_package(Qt5 COMPONENTS Gui DBus REQUIRED)
add_executable(subscriber1 subscriber1.cpp)
target_link_libraries(subscriber1 Qt5::Gui Qt5::DBus)

find_package(Qt4 REQUIRED)
add_executable(subscriber2 subscriber2.cpp)
target_link_libraries(subscriber2 Qt4::QtGui Qt4::QtDBus)
.EE
.UNINDENT
.UNINDENT
.sp
A CMake target may not link to more than one Qt version.  A diagnostic is issued
if this is attempted or results from transitive target dependency evaluation.
.SH QT BUILD TOOLS
.sp
Qt relies on some bundled tools for code generation, such as \fBmoc\fP for
meta\-object code generation, \fBuic\fP for widget layout and population,
and \fBrcc\fP for virtual file system content generation.  These tools may be
automatically invoked by \fI\%cmake(1)\fP if the appropriate conditions
are met.  The automatic tool invocation may be used with Qt version 4 to 6.
.SS AUTOMOC
.sp
The \fI\%AUTOMOC\fP target property controls whether \fI\%cmake(1)\fP
inspects the C++ files in the target to determine if they require \fBmoc\fP to
be run, and to create rules to execute \fBmoc\fP at the appropriate time.
.sp
If a macro from \fI\%AUTOMOC_MACRO_NAMES\fP is found in a header file,
\fBmoc\fP will be run on the file.  The result will be put into a file named
according to \fBmoc_<basename>.cpp\fP\&.
If the macro is found in a C++ implementation
file, the moc output will be put into a file named according to
\fB<basename>.moc\fP, following the Qt conventions.  The \fB<basename>.moc\fP must
be included by the user in the C++ implementation file with a preprocessor
\fB#include\fP\&.
.sp
Included \fBmoc_*.cpp\fP and \fB*.moc\fP files will be generated in the
\fB<AUTOGEN_BUILD_DIR>/include\fP directory which is
automatically added to the target\(aqs \fI\%INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES\fP\&.
.INDENT 0.0
.IP \(bu 2
This differs from CMake 3.7 and below; see their documentation for details.
.IP \(bu 2
For \fI\%multi configuration generators\fP,
the include directory is \fB<AUTOGEN_BUILD_DIR>/include_<CONFIG>\fP\&.
.IP \(bu 2
See \fI\%AUTOGEN_BUILD_DIR\fP\&.
.UNINDENT
.sp
Not included \fBmoc_<basename>.cpp\fP files will be generated in custom
folders to avoid name collisions and included in a separate
file which is compiled into the target, named either
\fB<AUTOGEN_BUILD_DIR>/mocs_compilation.cpp\fP or
\fB<AUTOGEN_BUILD_DIR>/mocs_compilation_$<CONFIG>.cpp\fP\&.
.INDENT 0.0
.IP \(bu 2
See \fI\%AUTOGEN_BUILD_DIR\fP\&.
.UNINDENT
.sp
The \fBmoc\fP command line will consume the \fI\%COMPILE_DEFINITIONS\fP and
\fI\%INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES\fP target properties from the target it is being
invoked for, and for the appropriate build configuration.
.sp
The \fI\%AUTOMOC\fP target property may be pre\-set for all
following targets by setting the \fI\%CMAKE_AUTOMOC\fP variable.  The
\fI\%AUTOMOC_MOC_OPTIONS\fP target property may be populated to set
options to pass to \fBmoc\fP\&. The \fI\%CMAKE_AUTOMOC_MOC_OPTIONS\fP
variable may be populated to pre\-set the options for all following targets.
.sp
Additional macro names to search for can be added to
\fI\%AUTOMOC_MACRO_NAMES\fP\&.
.sp
Additional \fBmoc\fP dependency file names can be extracted from source code
by using \fI\%AUTOMOC_DEPEND_FILTERS\fP\&.
.sp
Source C++ files can be excluded from \fI\%AUTOMOC\fP processing by
enabling \fI\%SKIP_AUTOMOC\fP or the broader \fI\%SKIP_AUTOGEN\fP\&.
.SS AUTOUIC
.sp
The \fI\%AUTOUIC\fP target property controls whether \fI\%cmake(1)\fP
inspects the C++ files in the target to determine if they require \fBuic\fP to
be run, and to create rules to execute \fBuic\fP at the appropriate time.
.sp
If a preprocessor \fB#include\fP directive is found which matches
\fB<path>ui_<basename>.h\fP, and a \fB<basename>.ui\fP file exists,
then \fBuic\fP will be executed to generate the appropriate file.
The \fB<basename>.ui\fP file is searched for in the following places
.INDENT 0.0
.IP 1. 3
\fB<source_dir>/<basename>.ui\fP
.IP 2. 3
\fB<source_dir>/<path><basename>.ui\fP
.IP 3. 3
\fB<AUTOUIC_SEARCH_PATHS>/<basename>.ui\fP
.IP 4. 3
\fB<AUTOUIC_SEARCH_PATHS>/<path><basename>.ui\fP
.UNINDENT
.sp
where \fB<source_dir>\fP is the directory of the C++ file and
\fI\%AUTOUIC_SEARCH_PATHS\fP is a list of additional search paths.
.sp
The generated generated \fBui_*.h\fP files are placed in the
\fB<AUTOGEN_BUILD_DIR>/include\fP directory which is
automatically added to the target\(aqs \fI\%INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES\fP\&.
.INDENT 0.0
.IP \(bu 2
This differs from CMake 3.7 and below; see their documentation for details.
.IP \(bu 2
For \fI\%multi configuration generators\fP,
the include directory is \fB<AUTOGEN_BUILD_DIR>/include_<CONFIG>\fP\&.
.IP \(bu 2
See \fI\%AUTOGEN_BUILD_DIR\fP\&.
.UNINDENT
.sp
The \fI\%AUTOUIC\fP target property may be pre\-set for all following
targets by setting the \fI\%CMAKE_AUTOUIC\fP variable.  The
\fI\%AUTOUIC_OPTIONS\fP target property may be populated to set options
to pass to \fBuic\fP\&.  The \fI\%CMAKE_AUTOUIC_OPTIONS\fP variable may be
populated to pre\-set the options for all following targets.  The
\fI\%AUTOUIC_OPTIONS\fP source file property may be set on the
\fB<basename>.ui\fP file to set particular options for the file.  This
overrides options from the \fI\%AUTOUIC_OPTIONS\fP target property.
.sp
A target may populate the \fI\%INTERFACE_AUTOUIC_OPTIONS\fP target
property with options that should be used when invoking \fBuic\fP\&.  This must be
consistent with the \fI\%AUTOUIC_OPTIONS\fP target property content of the
depender target.  The \fI\%CMAKE_DEBUG_TARGET_PROPERTIES\fP variable may
be used to track the origin target of such
\fI\%INTERFACE_AUTOUIC_OPTIONS\fP\&.  This means that a library which
provides an alternative translation system for Qt may specify options which
should be used when running \fBuic\fP:
.INDENT 0.0
.INDENT 3.5
.sp
.EX
add_library(KI18n klocalizedstring.cpp)
target_link_libraries(KI18n Qt6::Core)

# KI18n uses the tr2i18n() function instead of tr().  That function is
# declared in the klocalizedstring.h header.
set(autouic_options
  \-tr tr2i18n
  \-include klocalizedstring.h
)

set_property(TARGET KI18n APPEND PROPERTY
  INTERFACE_AUTOUIC_OPTIONS ${autouic_options}
)
.EE
.UNINDENT
.UNINDENT
.sp
A consuming project linking to the target exported from upstream automatically
uses appropriate options when \fBuic\fP is run by \fI\%AUTOUIC\fP, as a
result of linking with the \fI\%IMPORTED\fP target:
.INDENT 0.0
.INDENT 3.5
.sp
.EX
set(CMAKE_AUTOUIC ON)
# Uses a libwidget.ui file:
add_library(LibWidget libwidget.cpp)
target_link_libraries(LibWidget
  KF5::KI18n
  Qt5::Widgets
)
.EE
.UNINDENT
.UNINDENT
.sp
Source files can be excluded from \fI\%AUTOUIC\fP processing by
enabling \fI\%SKIP_AUTOUIC\fP or the broader \fI\%SKIP_AUTOGEN\fP\&.
.SS AUTORCC
.sp
The \fI\%AUTORCC\fP target property controls whether \fI\%cmake(1)\fP
creates rules to execute \fBrcc\fP at the appropriate time on source files
which have the suffix \fB\&.qrc\fP\&.
.INDENT 0.0
.INDENT 3.5
.sp
.EX
add_executable(myexe main.cpp resource_file.qrc)
.EE
.UNINDENT
.UNINDENT
.sp
The \fI\%AUTORCC\fP target property may be pre\-set for all following targets
by setting the \fI\%CMAKE_AUTORCC\fP variable.  The
\fI\%AUTORCC_OPTIONS\fP target property may be populated to set options
to pass to \fBrcc\fP\&.  The \fI\%CMAKE_AUTORCC_OPTIONS\fP variable may be
populated to pre\-set the options for all following targets.  The
\fI\%AUTORCC_OPTIONS\fP source file property may be set on the
\fB<name>.qrc\fP file to set particular options for the file.  This
overrides options from the \fI\%AUTORCC_OPTIONS\fP target property.
.sp
Source files can be excluded from \fI\%AUTORCC\fP processing by
enabling \fI\%SKIP_AUTORCC\fP or the broader \fI\%SKIP_AUTOGEN\fP\&.
.SH THE <ORIGIN>_AUTOGEN TARGET
.sp
The \fBmoc\fP and \fBuic\fP tools are executed as part of a synthesized
\fI\%The <ORIGIN>_autogen target\fP \fI\%custom target\fP generated by
CMake.  By default that \fI\%The <ORIGIN>_autogen target\fP target inherits the dependencies
of the \fB<ORIGIN>\fP target (see \fI\%AUTOGEN_ORIGIN_DEPENDS\fP).
Target dependencies may be added to the \fI\%The <ORIGIN>_autogen target\fP target by adding
them to the \fI\%AUTOGEN_TARGET_DEPENDS\fP target property.
.sp
\fBNOTE:\fP
.INDENT 0.0
.INDENT 3.5
If Qt 5.15 or later is used and the generator is either \fI\%Ninja\fP or
\fI\%Makefile Generators\fP, see \fI\%The <ORIGIN>_autogen_timestamp_deps target\fP\&.
.UNINDENT
.UNINDENT
.SH THE <ORIGIN>_AUTOGEN_TIMESTAMP_DEPS TARGET
.sp
If Qt 5.15 or later is used and the generator is either \fI\%Ninja\fP or
\fI\%Makefile Generators\fP, the \fB<ORIGIN>_autogen_timestamp_deps\fP target is
also created in addition to the \fI\%The <ORIGIN>_autogen target\fP target.  This target
does not have any sources or commands to execute, but it has dependencies that
were previously inherited by the pre\-Qt 5.15 \fI\%The <ORIGIN>_autogen target\fP target.
These dependencies will serve as a list of order\-only dependencies for the
custom command, without forcing the custom command to re\-execute.
.SH VISUAL STUDIO GENERATORS
.sp
When using the \fI\%Visual Studio Generators\fP, CMake
generates a \fBPRE_BUILD\fP \fI\%custom command\fP
instead of the \fI\%The <ORIGIN>_autogen target\fP
\fI\%custom target\fP (for \fI\%AUTOMOC\fP and
\fI\%AUTOUIC\fP).  This isn\(aqt always possible though and an
\fI\%The <ORIGIN>_autogen target\fP \fI\%custom target\fP is used,
when either
.INDENT 0.0
.IP \(bu 2
the \fB<ORIGIN>\fP target depends on \fI\%GENERATED\fP files which aren\(aqt
excluded from \fI\%AUTOMOC\fP and \fI\%AUTOUIC\fP by
\fI\%SKIP_AUTOMOC\fP, \fI\%SKIP_AUTOUIC\fP, \fI\%SKIP_AUTOGEN\fP
or \fI\%CMP0071\fP
.IP \(bu 2
\fI\%AUTOGEN_TARGET_DEPENDS\fP lists a source file
.IP \(bu 2
\fI\%CMAKE_GLOBAL_AUTOGEN_TARGET\fP is enabled
.UNINDENT
.SH QTMAIN.LIB ON WINDOWS
.sp
The Qt 4 and 5 \fI\%IMPORTED\fP targets for the QtGui libraries specify
that the qtmain.lib static library shipped with Qt will be linked by all
dependent executables which have the \fI\%WIN32_EXECUTABLE\fP enabled.
.sp
To disable this behavior, enable the \fBQt5_NO_LINK_QTMAIN\fP target property for
Qt 5 based targets or \fBQT4_NO_LINK_QTMAIN\fP target property for Qt 4 based
targets.
.INDENT 0.0
.INDENT 3.5
.sp
.EX
add_executable(myexe WIN32 main.cpp)
target_link_libraries(myexe Qt4::QtGui)

add_executable(myexe_no_qtmain WIN32 main_no_qtmain.cpp)
set_property(TARGET main_no_qtmain PROPERTY QT4_NO_LINK_QTMAIN ON)
target_link_libraries(main_no_qtmain Qt4::QtGui)
.EE
.UNINDENT
.UNINDENT
.SH COPYRIGHT
2000-2025 Kitware, Inc. and Contributors
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